1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a system, a program, and a method to lay out posting information, such as documents and images and, in particular, to a layout system, a layout program, and a layout method appropriate to prevent a layout intended by a designer from being destroyed.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital content delivery systems to provide users digital contents, such as news are available in the related art. Such a related art system reads several digital contents from a content registration database (hereinafter database is simply referred to as DB), edits the read digital contents, and delivers the edited digital contents to a user. In the course of editing, the digital content is arranged in a layout that is easy for the user to see. For example, related art techniques for layout include a document processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-89101 (hereinafter referred to as first related art), a character string automatic editing system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-154174 (hereinafter referred to as second related art), and a digital content production system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-297571 (hereinafter referred to as third related art).
The first related art includes an available area searching unit, a layout structure holding unit, an available area list holding unit, and an available area segmenting unit. The available area searching unit searches for an available area receiving the content of a document, by referencing a layout structure, in the middle of a layout process, held by the layout structure holding unit. The available area list holding unit holds available areas or the list thereof found by the available area searching unit in the search process. If the available area held in the available area list holding unit overlaps with a layout structure that is arranged before the layout process to a logical structure of the document, the available area list holding unit segments the available area taking into consideration the already arranged layout structure, and registers the list of segmented areas in the available area list holding unit.
The first related art dynamically segments the available area rather than statically segmenting beforehand the available area in this way. Regardless of whether a frame is anchored or floated, another content may be placed without paying attention to the frame, and a desired layout results.
The second related art includes a drawing data containing unit, a character string searching unit, a character string peripheral area searching unit and a character string movement unit. An operator views a registered drawing displayed on a display unit, and designates, using a keyboard or an unshown mouse, an area where the overlapping state of character strings must be edited. Drawing data in the area designated by the drawing data containing unit is read. The character string searching unit searches for a character string in the overlapping state thereof. The character string peripheral area searching unit searches for a blank area surrounding the found character string. If a blank area is found, the character string movement unit automatically moves the character string to the blank area, thereby overcoming the overlapping state of the character string. If no blank area is found, a character string contraction unit contracts the character string. Subsequent to the contraction operation, the character string peripheral area searching unit searches for a blank area for the contracted character string. If a blank area is found, the character string movement unit automatically moves the contracted character string into the blank area. If no blank area is found, the character string movement unit moves the character string in response to an instruction from the operator.
In this way, the number of operational steps in the editing process is efficiently reduced, and the efficiency of the operation is enhanced.
The third related art includes a layout definition file that defines the state of arrangement of a layout area in which a first information container frame and a second information container frame partially overlap each other. The layout definition file includes a placement order set for each information container frame. The shape of the first information container frame or the position of the first information container frame within the layout area is determined based on the amount of information of an article to be contained in the first information container frame among a plurality of information container frames. Based on the determined shape or the determined position of the first information container frame, the shape or the position within the layout area of the second information container frame which overlaps with the first information container is determined among the plurality of information container frames. The selected articles are placed into the plurality of information container frames according to the placement order.
The above-mentioned arrangement reduces the possibility that the layout intended by the designer is destroyed by the content of information to be posted, the amount of information, and the logical structure of information. Flexibility in the posting order of information is relatively enhanced.